Music Review: Strings – Koi Aane Wala hai

I remember Strings to be one of the most exported band from across the border. Their music has been reminiscent with my college years, with my friend strumming the chords to the tune of “Anjaane Kyu” (which remains till date my favorite of the lot). It has been 4 years since Dhaani was out. Hard to believe. Feels like yesterday when we used to hum “Mil Gaya Woh, Jo Churake…“, but then, it has indeed been 4 years since. And the duo of Bilaal and Faisal have been busy doing Indian soundtracks (Zinda for example which is included in this album). So the big question is-Does Koi Aane Wala Hai make it up for the 4 years that these guys took to write these songs? The answer is a big NO. And what does it lack in? Originality for starts, a good sound for second and thirdly, melody. It is so pathetic that it sounds a wannabe album, even for the industry veterans that Strings represent. And yes, I shall deal with the tracks -one by one. But I shall stay mum about Zinda– coz that actually doesn’t belong to this album. And I can fight even the duo for that. C’mon, this is a recycled OST of a movie, (which itself is a recycled dump of a hippo) released two years back. So, argument won. Next is the order in which I have heard the CD. Last track first. Why? Because that is where you find the laziness of the creator. That is where mediocrity creeps in and that IS the first place to find compromise and may be sometimes what they call INSPIRATION.

Track: 12-Akhri Alvida. Sounds like a sequel of KK’s alvida- just the name. Play this one and you will realise, well Faisal and Bilaal have tried to fool us with this one. You know what, we do listen to Coldplay and we do know the song-Clocks. So what, this is just an inspiration you see. The piano intro, and the cello slides, and then Faisal in his signature vocals begins- Dhadkane Khamosh Hai Kuch Kehtee Nahi..and by the time we reach the chorus line- Ye Akhri Alvida Naa Ho- it takes shape of the famous guitar line portion from Fix You when Chris Martin starts running and enters the stadium. Get it. As graphically copied to the details as mentioned and 0 % exaggeration. Track 12- Yawn, lousy lyrics, bad copy. If we wanted to hear a Coldplay song we would. Don’t package it as Akhri Alvida

Track 11:Zinda: As discussed above, won’t talk about this one. If you really want to know, this is an OK OK song which is heavily orchestrated with unnecessary embellishments. Especially the annoying drum lines in the intro. All I can remember of this song is John Abraham and Sanjay Dutt who did playback on the video of the song. The video actually was of these two guys sitting with the Duo in a recording studio. Anyway, what does that have to do with this review. Aah, next!!

Track 10: Hum Hee Hum: This is the beginning to an assurance that the drumming on this album will just get worse as we proceed in the album. This track is all about “Hum Hee Hum”, you get it. The drumming is very sloppy and very routine. The guitar riff is very ordinary, and the bass line is continuous (which is the only not-bad thing going on in this track). The solo does nothing to me. And yes, as usual Faisal is ruled out by Bilaal when he takes over the microphone. I don’t see anyone humming this song. Unless we can find either Dhoni, SRK or Amitabh Bachhan to feature in this video. Why these three? It’s so obvious. Who else would sing – Hum Hee Hum ?

Track 9:Titliyan: Sounds like a soundtrack of a movie made for children. Well, this is but sounding very repetitive. Ek Jheel Thee, Kaee Phool The, Sab Mit Gaye, Kya Kahe..e..e., is that the best you can do? I know a Strings album doesn’t boast of lyrics with earth shattering emotional-quotient. But we have had some good ones as well. Ugh! The track is just 2 mins through, and I’m skipping to the next, not caring of any hidden melodies in the last 10 seconds.

Track 8:Jab Bhi Main: What is up with the drummer? It sounds so much like a Kolkata made bass drum, being banged in a 10 by 10 room with a tin roof. And trust me on this, this sounds like Strings are releasing their first album. Yes, this could be a good intro song for a debut album. But I just don’t accept it to follow even Chhaye Chhaye. Very disappointed and yet 7 more to go.

Track 7: Sonay Do: Ok, just a track before I was talking of a soundtrack made for children. Actually this is the one. The drumming is yet again very much like one you would find in a kindergarten rhyme recitation. It is Bilaal on the vocals this time-full time. And somehow this one seems like inspired by Taare Zameen Par (the movie, not the soundtrack). Listen to it and you’ll get what I mean by that.

Track 6:Jab Say Tumko: Fine, I am done talking about the drummer, let’s go to other flaws. Oh yeah, the snare is just CHEAP. And oh yeah, is this really STRINGS. Lemme get you the lyrics first:

Jab Say Tumko Maine Dekha Hai, Mujhe Pyar Ka matlab aa gaya

Jab Say Tumko Maine Chahaa Hai, Mera Jeena Aasaan ho Gaya X4

And there is a good riff going there , but that drumming is just swallowing it and pooping all over it. This is a very very pathetic attempt at creating a wanna be glam-metal sound.

Track 5: Keh Dia: This is a movie soundtrack. Yes, can fit into any of those lovey-dovey flicks. And surprisingly is the first one that I have liked in the entire album. Probably because there’s hardly any drumming. But then, I somehow like the melody on this one. It’s a romantic number with a muted acoustic rhythm on the chorus line, and lots of chorus going Heyy Yooo!!! Good that they didn’t include any techno tones on this one.Nice job done on this one.

Track 4: Jaago: Quite self-contradicting, don’t you think? They have a song called Sone Do, and then they have another one called Jaago. That’s actually the only interesting to tell about this song. The climax has Bilaal going Acapella for a while to then eventually rock out, quite predictably. Pfft!!! This track doesn’t exist.

Track 3:Humsafar: Sounds like the duo have been listening to a lot of Brit soundtracks. You know the ones included in Runaway Bride. This is like just another addition to that. Not a bad song actually. But saying anything better than that would be said in pity.May be I have built up my hate-wall for this album by now, and may be it would have worked if I were to listen the first two tracks first. It’s upto them now. Two more to go.

Track 2:Ek Do Teen: Starts like a Mika Song ( another Brit) on the piano and the drummer ruins it. Ugh. The trumpets blow and then the bass line kicks in. And then the chorus- Ek Ho Teen, Kaisa Badla Scene, Duniya Thee Rangeen, Aur Main hi Main Tha– Yeah the story of a miracle happening with the spell of a magic wand. I am not 8 anymore. Are they bringing in Darsheel to star in the video of this song?

Down to the Title Track: Koi Aane Wala Hai: Hmm, interesting distorted guitar intro. They better not go wrong with this one. They do know that they can’t afford to. Coz, c’mon, they included John Abraham on the video. Good ol’ friendship still ZINDA. They concentrated their entire 3 years and 364 days in making this one. And then, mixed and matched the discarded chorus lines, riffs, rhythms of this one and jumbled them up to create the rest of the album. Trust me. The title track is a signature Strings song, and would remain in my playlist for quite a while. Has that vibe to make it easily identifiable which is lacking in the entire album.

Good thing though that I kept the best for the last. As for the soundtrack, I do think Koi Aane Wala Hai- yeah, Brrrttttt…eww…me Fart!

This album is absolutely ridiculous. I cant believe that these are the same people who gace us ‘Dhani’ and ‘Door’, where have those melodious and foot tapping songs gone. I still love listening to their previous singles. I for one am very dissapointed with strings latest effort.

Ok. First of all, the album sucks big time. Least said the better but I have a problem with the reviewer.

Ok your an indian and really proud of your cheap bollywood. I have no problem with that but to say that zinda is good cause it has Sunjay dutt and Jon in it is pure and simple BS. Those two did nothing worthy in the song that made it great. Sunjay didn’t actually sing (don’t look at the video) and JON spewed few words which would have looked great if they came from Fasial’s mouth.

Koi aanay wala is good cause JON is in it. Again more BS. Strings are a zillion times more talented then JON or SUNJAY. They don’t need them to sell their product. They became famous on their own and didn’t use your cheapster bollywood for it.

As a matter of fact, every second good Bollywood song in india is either made by Pakistanis or has been copied from them.

Dude, calm down. We all know of the caliber and the sheer quality of Paki bands. Strings stands as one of the mediocre ones among mammoths like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and I even consider Fuzon to be much better, original and superior in every sense.

Secondly, most of the music coming out of Bollywood is definitely run of the mill, but we do have A.R.Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan,and Vishal Shekhar bringing original flava to the table. So it is NOT cheap.

Thirdly, I didn’t praise Zinda at all. If you can proof read it, this is wht I wrote:
Track 11:Zinda: As discussed above, won’t talk about this one. If you really want to know, this is an OK OK song which is heavily orchestrated with unnecessary embellishments. Especially the annoying drum lines in the intro. All I can remember of this song is John Abraham and Sanjay Dutt who did playback on the video of the song. The video actually was of these two guys sitting with the Duo in a recording studio. Anyway, what does that have to do with this review. Aah, next!!

Koi Aanay Wala Hai isnt good coz John is in it. It has to be good enough coz it has a video featuring John in it. Dude, u seriusly need to polish ur comprehension skills. What I meant isnt what u perceived.

About being famous on their own, c’mon. You know the adulation that they receive here in India. And you talk about they do not need cheapster Bollywood. Yeah right!

Every second song in India belonging to Pakistan- debatable…u hv the points, I have the counter ones as well. So , let’s end at tht.

ZINDA is actually a very good song. You remember it cause Jon and Sunjay are in it…. wat does that mean? Atif, Strings, Junoon, Fuzon were super mega in Pakistan and were doing concerts in america and europe before coming to india. Strings and Junoon have actually been famous coz they are not typical bollywood and have not used its fame rather the reverse.

Have you heard KAL JUB DEKHA MAIN NEY CHAND by waris baig. Have you heard title track of murder by Najam Sheraz, the dumed out version of Aadat, TERA MAIN NAZARA of punjabi film Choorian, DHEERAY DHEERAY by Mehdi hassan etc etc, all stolen and deformed by Bolly. There are many more examples. Many more, I can only think of these. Both Atif and Waris Baig admitted on TV that they were bullied by indian directors to either give their songs or we would use them as Paki songs were not copyrighted in India, until released.

I didn’t say every second song, I said recently, every second good song.

I have nothing against Indian industry and indeed you have great talent. What infuriates me is for people to say that india has made them famous. Na. It is they and only they who deserve the credit. India is just another market. JON, SUNJAY, Amitab, SRK etc are good actors but they have nothing to contribute to them.

@ Taimur
I remember it because of John and Sanjay, it means I dont like the song. Full stop. The only thing memorable about it was the John and Sanjay cameo in the video. Is it so hard to believe? A personal opinion about a song! Duh!!!

You definitely wouldn’t disagree though that India is a huge consumer market, in India and overseas as well. And well, the overseas market is actually quite blended to distinguish who from who, which is not wrong at all.

As of music legends, we have our legends to talk and boast of as well.
I personally do not have a very deep knowledge of Pakistani music legends except for a few renowned ones. So I’d rather not debate on that.

As for copyright or not, I really cant speak for the filmmkers here. But then, you have that kinda bull shitting over there, here and everywhere. Don’t you think? It happens with an original Indian folk tune as much as a Pakistani qawwali or ghazal which is wrong.

You have some fair points as well, I agree. But this is all a grey area rather than having shades of black or white.

But then, I really don’t get how this entire debate of Paki music vs, Indian music or shall we say Bolly music came into the picture, while all I am discussing here is the new Strings Album, which well, sucked…like a vacuum cleaner

and pakistan, be it Strings or Fuzon. Why Strings went with an indian director for their album video, or why only John? the simple reason is that they want to encash the market here. Even once Brian(Junoon fame) admitted that one of the reasons for the Band splitting was that Ali was more busy with his engagements in India himself and not worrying about the band’s future as a whole.
Also about bollywood songs being copied from pakistani tracks, so even is the case with the bands like Call. If you want more i would get back with the list.
Don’t get me wrong, even i am a big fan of pakistani bands. I rate Junoon as the best. But still it would be unfair to say that there isn’t any talent here. We too have very good rock bands here like Indian Ocean, Agnee, and many more.

i don’t know..i kind of like this video..as faisal and bilal say,the songs kinda grow on u after a while..even though all of u may say that this album sucked..im inl ove with it..especially humsafar,kawh(btw i hated the video,they spent so much $$ on it and it came out to be so crappy with an angel in a suit..wtf!?!? i hate john,he’s not all that special but w.e,,zinda hoon’s video was nicer.) about the songs,i think titlyan is the greatest song in the album,im not being technical im just saying that you get used to the music in this album and it grows on you as do strings’ vocals.aik do teen IS meant for children but i guess im one so i lik that one too,itz time strings tried something different and i giv them recognition for this cuz honestly i was getting sick of listening to akhri alvida,and that beirut song because the melody was repetitive..4/5 for kawh!!!
they shudn’t hav put in akhri alvida and zinda in the album though i agree

aw gee i didnt know dat do i hear crowds in pakistan cheering SRK n emraan hashmi movies like wild?? well the noise sure is deafening it does stomp out ur justified and not-so-justified replies dude cheers…..n btw KOI AANE WALA HAI is just another song yaar
not dat special thnx to the blog saved myself Rs.55(yea m still old fashioned)…..

P.S STRINGS sure do rock so do JAL, JUNOON n ATIF plz dont get me wrong have nothing against them…..

I am a Paki & a huge Paki Pop buff. (I claim to be an encyclopedia on late 80's /early 90's). I always preferred had other Classic Paki Pop bands like Junoon & Vital Signs but the string come back album 2001’s ‘Duur’ was quite a master piece and the music reflected maturity vis-à-vis their earlier two albums which were a hotch potch of different musical styles. Duur was a step towards adult-soft rock with melodies hummable by everyone from 7 year old to 70 year old. The most noticeable difference was quality of musicianship (with helping hand from guest guitarists including Nabeel Chishty of Aaroh and Shallum Xavier of Fuzon). It was well produced and some attention of detail was there. (perhaps, their gap of 8 years between the albums can be blamed for this! ;)) Similarly, their next endavour ‘Dhani’ was a commendable effort too. Again, the sound was polished and guitar work by Shallum was pretty apt. best thing for Strings was that it introduced them to a whole new Indian audience, BIG TIME. Though there were some filler tracks but still, Dhani had its moments. However, when Strings returned with ‘Koi Aaney Wala Hai’, the irony is that nothing arrived!!! Now they’ve said that they had made tracks but then scrapped them and started from scratch. But I really think that the last album was done in haste & is such a shitty album in their discography. Especially keeping in mind that Strings is now a global band rather than sub-continent/ regional with international recognition from UNO/UNESCO and a Guitar endorsement deal from Gibson guitars (though it’s ironical that both Duur & Dhani had guitar work done mostly by guests and Bilal’s own guitar playing is mediocre at its best. But I guess here’s where the commercial angle kicks in, Gibson in Bilal hands means BIGGER exposure for Gibson Guitars. Musicianship goes down the drain! Moollah goes in the pocket!)Again, it’s a shame that the last album contains 2 songs which were previously released as sound tracks and include two songs which are a remix/remake of their older tunes (from their first two albums) All in all, they should have waited till they had strong tunes in hand before belting out yet another album. We all know that no artist earns from album sales now (especially in ‘piracy rules’ countries like Pakistan & India!) They should’ve done justice to the wait fans did for almost four years. And I am not discussing the poor instrumentation on the record (please spare the horrible beat-machine next time guys & get back to hiring a skilled guitar player to feature on the album!)Let’s just hope that String returns to form with a new album after a year or two and prove that all the fame & accolades they enjoy is justified.Cheers!Disclaimer; I am still a Strings Music lover and wrote this comment/ review as a true fan as I felt the pain of betrayal with this album of Strings!

Oh me..Oh my.. You have pointed out exactly what problem I had with the album. It just didn't cut it. Felt like it was just a mediocre attempt and the studios just pushed them to cut a few tracks. Like you said, Duur and Dhaani were really out there, each track was a melodious one, and really well produced. Comparing that to Koi Aane Wala ..KAW doesn't stand anywhere.

Glad tht u pointed out Bilal's guitaring mediocrity too. He only flaunts on the music video. But I personally belive Bilal has a more stylish voice than Faisal..And yes, all those endorsments are just because it translates into business…moolah..rokda..paisa..whatever.

Here's hoping that Strings prove themselves again and release an awesome one.

Thanks for appreciating my point of views Sujoy. Yes, Bilal gets the luxury of cherry picking tunes that he gets to sing and indeed the credit goes to him for utilizing his limited vocal range to the optimum best for those compositions.

And I am quite a regular visitor to your blog. You are doing a great job! (but I never found an article as kick ass as the top 20 villains of bollywood! :))